Tips for live tweeting
Live tweeting standards are very similar, no matter if the event is a game, a press conference, breaking news or a trial.
Before you go
• Follow the people you know will be there (speakers, participants, etc.) Engage with them before the event starts and know their handles for when you are tweeting.
• Let your followers know that you will be live tweeting.
• Know the event’s #hashtag
• Do we need to set up a widget on the website?
During the event
Our goal during the event is to help followers feel like they are at the event.
• Give people a sense of place. What’s the scene like, how are people acting?
• Engage all five senses as you compose your tweets – smells, sights, sounds, etc.
• Use at least one hashtag, ideally one associate with the event, so people can easily find your tweets, either in the moment or after the fact.
• Keep an eye out for trends, key moments, or shifts in momentum or mood. Share these observations.
• Use quotes. Obama: “We will not give up in this fight against terror.”
• Connect with others: respond to @replies, DMs, etc.
• What’s the lede of the story? Put that in 140 characters or less. What’s the lede five minutes later? Ditto.
• If you can’t fit everything in one tweet, start with one, and add a follow-up tweet with additional context. While this technique should be kept to a minimum, don’t shy away from something just because it’s complex.
• When writing your tweets, picture an editor looking over your shoulder, continuously chopping off unnecessary words to make it more concise. Keep them as short as possible and only include the most pertinent info.
• Be visual: add photos, short videos or Periscope moments from the event.
• Be interesting.
After the event
• Continue to engage with the players from the event.
• Tweet your final story with a link and photo, so readers can see the final product.